Friction-barrel



G. QJLEWIS. FRICTION BARREL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 15| 1919.

Patented Mar. 29, 1921.,

g f4 /7 E NETE@ Steves" eoonnrcii e. Lnwis, or cnrcaeo, rLLinorsr-issrenoa ro WILLIAM rr. Minna, or cnam, new Yoan:- f

' rammen-BARREL.

letame.

To all whom t may concern.' e

Be it known that l, Goonniorr .Q Lewis, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county vof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Friction-Barrels, of whichthe following is a full,.clear, concise, and exacty description, Yreference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this-specification. l Y

This invention relates to improvements in friction barrels.

Heretofore, it has been the general practice in the art of friction draft gears for railway cars to form the friction shell and spring cage integrally, the shell and cage constituting what has been termed either 'a friction cylinder or friction barrel.V As is well known, the greatest wear on such cylinders or barrels occurs in the vtrue friction shell proper due to the constant sliding back and forth therein of the friction shoes. rllhe result is that the life ofthe cylinder or barrel is determined by the life of the friction shell proper and consequently there is an economic loss in the replacement of the cylinder or barrel inasmuch as the spring cage is not subjected to any appreciable wear and would ordinarily be in condition to perform its function for a much longer time.

The object of my invention is to provide a friction cylinder or friction barrel particularly adapted for friction draft gears wherein the friction shell proper and the spring cage are independently formed and either,

part may be readily renewed or replaced without the necessity of renewing or replacing the entire friction barrel.

More specifically, the object of my invention is to provide a friction cylinder or barrel wherein the shell and spring cage are independently formed and adapted to be rigidly united by means formed integrally on the shell and cage, the uniting means being such that the shell and cage may be readily separated or dis-assembled without any destructive effect on the uniting means.

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is part sectional part elevational view of a friction gear embodying my improvements, the type of gear shown being of the well known Miner7 type. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig.

` Specification of Letters Patent.y Patentamt Mfair. 29, 192i, I Application met November 15,1919. Vserial no'. 338,239. A l I F ig." 8 is` a'detailed perspective of the friction shell proper detache,

lln said drawing, the friction cylinder or barrel is comprised of a friction shell pro-per designated generally by the reference A. and a spring cage designated by the reference B.

The shell A is of generally cylindrical form` and has anvinterior cylindrical friction surface 10 and at top and bottom is provided with enlargements indicated at 11-11 the samer having upper and lower flat bearing surfaces, `13f13 adapted to fit within the usual upper and lower arms of the yoke.

The cage B, as shown, is of generally recj .f

tangular crosssection havingtop and bottom walls 14C, rear connecting wall 15 and front transverse wall 16, The cage is open at its sides in the usual manner to permit the insertion, laterally of the twin 17,-.17. The friction elements within the shell A comprise a plurality of circularly arranged friction shoes 18, wedge 19, anti-friction rollers `between the wedge and shoes (not shown), a preliminary spring 20, spring follower 21, retaining bolt 22, and the main springs 17. The arrangement of said elements and their operation lare well known and need not be described in detail.

To form a rigid but at the same time readily detachable connection between the shell A and cage B l employ the following means: On thcv shell A., near its rear end l form diametrically disposed laterally extending integral flanges 23-28- Each of said flanges 23 has yan arcuate outer edge 24 and straight side edges 25-25. Where the outer edge 24 unites with the side -edges 25, each flange is preferably beveled as indicated at 26 on that face nearest the outer end of the shell.

On the cage B, forwardly of the front wall 16, I form two diametricall disposed undercut arcuate grooves 27-277 each of which extends through an arc not greater than 90 so as to interrupt such undercut grooves 27 or leave gaps therebetween as indicated at 28-28 in Fig. 2. As will be understood, the radius for the undercut grooves 27 is made slightly greater than the radius for the arcuate edges 24 of the flanges 23 so that said flanges 23 may be rotated within said grooves 27 and t snugly therewithin. rlhe inner edges 29 of the overhanging flanges 30 which define the grooves 27, are also formed on arcs of a circle the radius of springs Y.'

which is great enough to permit the enlargements 11 of the shell to clear said edges' during relative rotation of the'. shelL and Y cage. In actual practice, the cage B Vwillibe, made of malleable iron so that the extreme ends of the flanges 30 as indicated at 31-431f1may f be bent without danger of fracture.

In assembling the shell and cage, the shell is positioned sol as to bring theA flanges 23 thereof` within the gaps 28. '5 The shell is then vrotated through an arc ,of 90, thus bringing the flanges-28 within the-grooves 27 and the shell in proper lposition with respect to the cage B. Thereupon the end portions 31 of thev flanges 3() are hammered down over the'beveled corners y2o ofthe flanges 23 atthe four places indicated in Fig. 2sothat the shell and cage are rigidly lthey may be made oit suli'cient strengthl to withstand the usual heavy service; vand, the unitingimeans are so designed thatthegshell and cage` may be shippedin proper assembled relation without the employment of any other means such as the interior parts of the gear, to hold them inproper assembled relation. VThis last advantage is of considerable importance where the barrel as a whole is Yshipped without any of the interior parts .since it=positively-eliminates any chance of Y thecarcompanies or railroad companies, of

improperly assembling the shell and cage.

Although I have herein shown andV described what I now consider the preferred Y manner of carrying out the inventiom; the

same ismerely illustrative and I contemplate all changes Vandmodifications that come within the scope hereto.

Iclainn' j y As an article of manufacture, a' friction barrel for railway friction draftgears, said `of the claim `appended .barrel comprising a'. friction f shell and a spring cage independently' formed, said' shell andcage having integrally'iormed coperating meansn for hold1ng'them`^r1g1dly in assembled position', saidmeans comprising lat- Y erally projectingl peripherally f separated 'flanges onVA oneof said elenientsgv Vandjseparated, correspondingly located undercut/'slots on the other of said elements, each-'o said slots extending fora greater length thanfthe corresponding flanges-and having the ends of the overhanging flangesdeiining said Islots 'bent'down overithe sides ofsaid laterally projecting flanges.

" .In wltness thatI'cla-im the-foregoing@ 5 have hereunto subscribed my name' this 3 5th clay fl\lov.1919. 1

Goonnion orniiwisi 

